


Taste Something Sweet

by violetstorm



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Baking, FFXValentines Exchange 2019, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 13:17:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18195092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Prompto and Noct both ask Ignis to help them bake something special for the other.Things go about as well as expected.





	Taste Something Sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aeroniya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeroniya/gifts).



> (yells)
> 
> This is my Valentines gift for @aer1029 for the Valentines exchange on the Twitter @FFXVexchange!! Ah!! The prompt was "non-traditional celebrations or something homemade" and I kinda just... ran away with the idea. Sorry for the wait, a few medical issues popped up, but here it is! Ah, I hope this is what you were looking for!!! ;;;; 
> 
> Happy (late) Valentines Day! ♡♡

* * *

  **7 days left**

* * *

 Ignis prided himself on being a rational, calm person. It was crucial to his role as adviser, yes, but it came in handy on many other occasions, from keeping a poker face during meetings with particularly stuffy nobles or dealing with rowdy new recruits into the Crownsguard who misunderstood the importance of their job.

Or walking into his prince’s apartment and smelling something burning.

Gagging, Ignis ran into the kitchen to find the source, expecting to see a stove on fire or black smoke or _anything_ that suggested this was a dangerous, terrible thing.

He instead came into the kitchen to the sight of Noct, the prince of Lucis, standing alone and covered in flour. As in, he was _covered._ It was over his hair, his face, his clothes _(and Ignis was already dreading the day he’d have to clean that)._ He was also holding a spoon covered in batter, which he used to wave at Ignis, ignoring the batter flying off and onto the floor, which Ignis _refused_ to so much as glance at, too horrified at what it may look like.

“Hey, Specs,” Noct said with feigned nonchalance. “Glad you came. I was just about to call you.”

Ignis sighed. Counted to three. “Noct. May I ask what all this is about?”

“I, uh— I was trying to cook. Bake. I meant bake.”

“I see,” Ignis said. He looked at the countertop. A bowl half-filled with batter sat next to a tray with some sad mounds which he presumed to be cookies. Spoons and cups lay scattered, joined by eggshells, flour and stray bits of batter. The only thing missing were measuring cups. Strange. “How did it go?”

Noct groaned, throwing down the spoon. “Don’t ask. Just… don’t. You make it look so easy.”

“Yes, well, I’ve had a lot of practice with it.” Ignis walked over to the kitchen, treading carefully. “What went wrong?”

“Everything?” Noct supplied oh-so helpfully. “I mixed everything like I was supposed to but they taste like shit. How long are you supposed to keep them in the oven for?”

Ignis picked up a cookie. “It depends on the cookie. What were you trying to make?” Ignis said a quick prayer to the Astrals and cautiously tasted the cookie, then proceeded to immediately gag, dropping the rest of the cookie onto the counter and covering his mouth. “What— What _were_ you trying to make?!”

“Shit, Specs, you okay?!” Noct said, and there was a glass of water being thrust in Ignis’ face. He took it graciously, draining the glass in two gulps. “They were supposed to be chocolate chip cookies! Are they really _that_ bad?”

“There’s—” Ignis coughed. “Always room for improvement. What did you put in the cookies?”

“Normal cookie stuff? Flour, eggs, milk, chocolate…”

“Noct.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you put sugar in the cookies?”

There was a silence that was followed by a quiet, “ _Fuck.”_

“I surmised as much.” Ignis said. Gods, he _tasted_ as much. He felt the urge to scrape his tongue clean but kept it together, if only for the sake of not hurting Noct's feelings. “That’s where you can start next, I suppose. Adding all the necessary ingredients. If there will be a next time.”

Noct grumbled something incomprehensible and walked past Ignis to face-plant into his sofa, Ignis mentally adding the sofa to things he would need to clean and Noct to people he wanted to throttle.

“I’d like to know what brought you to do this in the first place.”

More grumbling. Ignis cleared his throat and Noct groaned into the sofa. “Prompto,” he said, his voice muffled. “It’s Prompto.”

“Did he put you up for this?”

“No. I wanted to make something for him. Y’know. For Valentines Day? The thing that’s happening in exactly one week?”

Oh. Yes, that. It wasn’t as though Ignis had forgotten about the holiday; he simply had no time for it (and nobody to spend the day with, if that mattered at all. _It didn’t,_ he told himself). It wouldn’t be his first time. However… “Ah, this is yours and Prompto’s first Valentines together, is it?”

“Yeah. So I wanted to make something special for him.”

“Why not buy something?”

“‘Cause I always do that,” Noct said and Ignis had no choice but to agree. Yes, it was sweet that he loved to give Prompto gifts. On the other hand, it was not so sweet to see the numbers adding up. Prompto hardly asked for anything but Noct would jump at every opportunity to give him something. Going out for a meal? He’d pay. New video game coming out? He’d buy it. Ignis had to actually stop Noct from buying Prompto a car when Prompto complained about having to wait for a bus in the rain, using the argument that Prompto didn’t have a license and wouldn’t be able to drive it anyway. “I’m always buying him shit and y’know Prompto can’t really… do that for me. So he just makes me stuff. Remember that photograph album of us he put together a couple months back?”

“Mmhm.” Quite clearly. Noct still had yet to stop gushing about it and Ignis would catch him flipping through it on harder days.

“Exactly! It’s got more… I dunno, _heart_ put into it. I want to try giving him something that _I_ made myself.”

“So you thought baking him something was the answer?” Ignis said thoughtfully.

Noct sat up from the sofa, his hair a mess and his eyes gone wide with fright. “Was it not a good idea?”

“No, no! It’s a wonderful idea, I assure you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s obviously not working.” The fear drained from Noct’s body, his moodiness returning. “So I need a new idea.”

“Giving up so soon?” Ignis began searching through the cupboards, pulling out new utensils, ingredients and most important, a can of Ebony.

“Huh?”

“I’ve schooled you in a great many things to date. What’s one more?”

“You mean—” Noct leapt to his feet. “You mean you’ll teach me how to bake?”

“Tomorrow,” Ignis said and Noct visibly wilted. “I’ve still dinner to make and your mess to clean up.”

“No— don’t.” Noct was by Ignis’ side in an instant. “Here. I’ll clean up. Call it thanks for teaching me. You just get started on dinner.”

“Of course.” Ignis smiled and began his work. A simple curry, nothing more, but with enough vegetables to squick the prince out. Hopefully his offer would have Noct eat at least _one_ vegetable out of thanks.

(he didn’t).

* * *

**6 days left**

* * *

Ignis’ schedule was rather kind for a Saturday. He had only two meetings to attend, and a mound of paperwork that weighed less than the usual twenty or so pounds he always got. Noct’s was very much the same, only he had Gladio to train with for the better part of the afternoon. Perhaps it was cruel of him to think, but Ignis was secretly thankful for Gladio stealing Noct away. He loved Noct, yes, but after spending three hours trying to teach him the importance of measuring ingredients when baking, he wanted nothing more than a break.

But he was Ignis Scientia and the Astrals were never kind enough to give him a break. He’d just walked out of an hour-long meeting when his phone sang with a notification from Prompto. Hm.

 _Prompto [11:28]: hey iggy?_ _  
_ _Prompto [11:28] you busy with anything right now?_

_Not at the moment. Was there something you need? [11:32]_

_Prompto [11:32] kinda/??_ _  
_ _Prompto [11:33] can i call u?_

Ignis’ response was to call Prompto himself. He picked up on the first ring with a chirpy, “Hey Iggy! Thanks for picking up. I know this is a short notice and all, but thanks.”

“It’s nothing. Would you tell me what’s on your mind? It’s not an emergency, is it?” Ignis asked. He’d gone through this song-and-dance before. Phonecalls with Prompto were usually never good things. The first time Prompto called, it was because he’d gotten lost in the rain and was freezing with no place to go. His phone had died, and he had barely just enough change for a payphone.

(Ignis may or may not have slightly sped on his way to pick up Prompto. He may or may not have dragged Prompto back to his place and gave him more warm soup than necessary. He may or may not have had Prompto sleep at his place “just in case”).

“No! Well, not that kind of emergency. It has to do with Noct. Not like that!" he assured. "He’s— he’s alive! He’s fine. I think. Hopefully.”

“He’s with Gladio right now.”

“Oh. So he’s not fine. Anyways, yeah. I wanted to talk to you about Noct,” Prompto’s voice grew quieter and Ignis could almost see him biting his lip. The Citadel’s halls were empty, and Ignis shoes' clicked and echoed against the cold marble floors. “You know how Valentines Day is coming up? So I wanted to um, get a present for Noct. Since it’s our first time and all.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know what to get him! I got him that photo album thing and I brought him on that picnic once so I can’t do it again. I already cleared that dungeon for him in King’s Knight. And the arcade’s outta the question.”

“I see.”

“Iggy, you gotta say something more than that! I’m desperate here!” Prompto wailed. “Like, should I just go for the full romantic mode and give him a candlelit dinner with rose petals and stuff? No, I can’t cook for shit.”

“Have you considered baking?”

“Yeah, but I’ve never baked anything before.” Prompto grew quiet for a moment. Ignis stopped in his tracks. “And I don’t have any ingredients or the tools to bake even a cookie.”

 _Because I can’t afford to waste what money I don’t have on stuff like that,_ went unsaid. “Come over to my apartment.” The words fell out of Ignis’ mouth before he realized it. “I should have everything you need there.”

“Wha—” There was the horrible sound of something hitting the ground and Prompto cursing. “Oh, good, the screen’s not cracked. Wait, what did you say?”

“You don’t have the necessities for baking at your house, no? And Astrals know you’ll refuse my offer of buying you what you need."

“Iggy…”

“So why don’t you try your hand at baking by my house? I’m free until seven.”

A quiet inhale. “You’ll… really do that?”

“Of course. And you needn’t worry about paying me back. I’m always happy to help anybody who wishes to try their hand in a kitchen.”

“Man,” Prompto let out a breathy laugh. “You went full-on Ratatouille there on me. But you’re a complete lifesaver. Really. I dunno what I’d do without you. So, uh, when can I come over?”

Ignis checked his watch. “We’ll meet at my place in thirty minutes?”

“You got it.”

Prompto hung up and Ignis nearly took off running. It was close to noon, surely the supermarkets would be busy. But he should have barely enough time to grab some ingredients and get back to his place in time to meet Prompto.

Cocoa, fresh fruits, chocolate, Ebony, flour, sugar… the list of ingredients he needed to buy grew longer and longer to the point where Ignis was struggling to enter his apartment, weighed down by three bags of groceries.

(So perhaps he understood why Noct wanted to spoil Prompto. Perhaps).

And just when he got everything set up on the counter, his doorbell rang. “Prompto!” Ignis greeted as he threw open the door. “It’s nice to see you.”

Prompto bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yup! Same to you. Thanks. Again. For letting me come over. Man, Noct’s not gonna believe his eyes when he gets his present.”

“Indeed. Why don’t you come inside?” Ignis stepped aside and began leading Prompto into the kitchen. “I’ve picked up a few things you may need. I hope you don’t mind.”

“A few?” Prompto’s eyes went wide. “This is practically a _buffet!_ You didn’t have to…”

“Nonsense. Now, we’ve all these good ingredients here, it would be a shame to let them go to waste. Why don’t we begin baking?”

(Ignis had to give Prompto credit. He wouldn’t have been able to guess that it was his first time baking, if it weren’t for his comments like, “Wow, _that’s_ an electric mixer? Man, I’ve always wanted to use one of these things before.”

So, nearly four hours later, when Prompto finally went home, leaving behind his slightly crumbly cookies in Ignis’ garbage, Ignis patted him on the back and said, “You made good progress today, Prompto. We can try again in two days’ time, if you’d like.”)

* * *

**5 days left**

* * *

 Ignis took a long, slow sip from his Ebony as he watched Noct pour some milk into a bowl with wary eyes. “Did you measure that accurately?”

“ _Yes,”_ Noct sighed. “I did. I’ve _been_ measuring everything.”

“Yes, well, forgive me for asking. I’m happy to see that my lessons from the other day have stuck with you.”

Noct stuck his tongue out and Ignis felt the urge to grab another can of Ebony. It was his second day of “training” Noct, they were barely an hour in, and Ignis was tempted to reach for a third can. Perhaps Gladio had a point when he said Ignis was getting addicted to Ebony.

He took another sip.

To be fair, Noct was improving. He’d certainly started measuring, even if he was a little lax in that, and he was following a recipe. He was complaining, sure, but his tenacity more than made up for it.

“Right. Everything’s in the bowl. So now I just… mix ‘em together?”

Ignis took a glance over. “Yes. Set the electric mixer to its lowest setting and as everything blends, you may increase the speed.”

“Yep. Got it.” Noct plugged the electric mixer in, crammed the bowl under the whisk and immediately switched it to its fastest setting.

 _“Noct, no!”_ Ignis had barely a second to react, pulling Noct out of the way with a cry, only to be greeted with a disgusting mass of batter coating his hair, face, chest. Just about everything in sight, really. He slammed the mixer off and whirled around with a look that could freeze fire, cursing his instincts to protect Noct.

“What on Eos were you doing?!”

Noct, who was not covered in a single speck of batter, grinned sheepishly. “I was mixing the stuff? I thought that it would go faster. Wasn't... expecting  _that_ to happen."

(Ignis sent a mental plea to the Astrals to save him. Or strike him down. He was fine with either by this point.)\

* * *

  **4 days left**

* * *

 Prompto was a fast learner, Ignis learned. He also liked doing things quickly. _Too_ quickly.

“But it’ll cook faster if it’s hotter, right?” Prompto said and he was two seconds away from punching in the oven to pre-heat to 500 degrees when Ignis pushed him away.

“No. It will not.”

“But _why?”_

Ignis looked at Prompto out of the corner of his eyes. “Are you really in the mood for a science lesson?”

“You know what? Probably not. I’ll just trust you on this one.” Prompto sat himself down in a chair next to the countertop and pulled a bowl of batter towards his body while Ignis loaded his cookies into the oven. “So how long do we need to keep them in the oven for?”

“Fourty-five minutes should do the trick,” Ignis said and he turned out to Prompto with a mouth-full of batter. “Wha— Prompto, do not eat that!”

Prompto gave Ignis a deliberate shit-eating grin. “Why not?”

(Ignis was saved from having to explain this one when Prompto, just little over an hour later, went home early complaining of a stomachache. He did get a text, late at night, of Prompto saying the cookies were too soft, but he was making progress.

And that he ate all twelve of them. While recovering from a stomachache.

Ignis resigned himself to the fact that he loved an idiot.)

* * *

  **3 days left**

* * *

Ignis didn’t give a chance for Noct to touch the electric mixer. With a dirty glare, he pushed its lowest setting.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” was all Noct said in response.

“And now, we wait until everything has completely blended.”

“Then I’ll just dump it onto the tray, bake it and we get good chocolate chip cookies?”

Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose. “The ‘good’ is yet to be determined but yes, that is the plan.”

His phone buzzed a moment later and Ignis discreetly shot a glance at it. A notification from Prompto shot up on his screen and Ignis excused himself to use the bathroom, hiding out in Noct’s hallway before opening up the text.

 _Prompto [8:24]: iggy how do u get the cookies to be flat_  
_Prompto [8:24] or less crumbly_  
_Prompto [8:25]: theyre all small and lumpy like_ _  
_ _Prompto [8:25]_ 20190318.2025.jpg

Ignis shot a glance to make sure Noct wasn’t around, then opened up the photo. He’d given Prompto some ingredients to take home the other night and he was proud to see him using the knowledge he was taught to try baking at his own place without Ignis’ guidance. So far, his results have been questionable, but his enthusiasm more than made up for it, especially since he was apparently still recovering from that stomachache he might have deserved.

 _It appears that you may have used too much flour [8:34]_ _  
_ _Or that you had left it in the oven for too long and dried out the cookie. [8:35]_

 _Prompto [8:36] sHIT U RITE_  
_Prompto [8:37] yeah i kinda forgot about them in the oven for a sec_  
_Prompto [8:37] should prolly use a timer or smthn_ _  
_ Prompto [8:38] oh but also can i brown sugar instead of white sugar? whts the diff?

Ignis was in the middle of typing a response when a loud _boom_ came from the kitchen, and the stench of something burning came flooding through the hallway. Ignis cursed and skidded back to the kitchen, feeling a strange sense of deja vu when he saw Noct, face blackened by ashes. In front of him was a tray with cookies that looked more coal than cookie.

“Noct, are you alright?” Ignis was on him immediately, fussing over his clothes, checking for any injuries. Noct scowled and pushed him away.

“Yeah, I’m fine. No biggie.”

“What in the world happened?” Ignis said. Noct didn’t respond. He fingered the hem of his shirt. “ _Noct.”_

“Look. I forgot to pre-heat the oven. And I didn’t wanna wait. So I might have used a fire spell on the cookies.”

“ _Might!?”_

(Ignis nearly lost his voice that day and he was sure the neighbours heard him shouting about fire safety.

On the bright side, the emergency cans of Ebony he kept at Noct’s place were miraculously unharmed. He drank all of them.)

* * *

  **2 days left**

* * *

The next day, Prompto launched himself into Ignis apartment with a cry of _“I did it! I did it! I really made good cookies!”_

He was carrying a covered plate and whipped off the top to brandish a small pile of chocolate-chip cookies. Sure, some were a little too lumpy or too flat, but they looked… _edible,_ which was honestly more than what Ignis was asking for at this point.

“Whaddaya think?” Prompto was practically skipping like an over excited pomeranian. “Try one! They’re looking pretty good. _Man,_ I can’t believe I did this!”

“They do look rather impressive,” Ignis said. He picked up a cookie— still warm— and sent a quick prayer before he bit into it. It… actually wasn’t all that bad. A bit too hard on the outsides, but there was a respectable amount of sugar in it and it was not burnt. Even for his relatively low standards, the cookie was delicious. “Prompto, this is quite something.”

“Is it… good?”

“It’s outstanding.” Ignis took another bite of the cookie, relishing in the taste of chocolate. “I’m proud of your progress, and I’m sure Noct will appreciate these.”

“You really think that?”

“I _know_ that.”

“Geez.” Prompto ran his fingers through his hair, thoroughly messing it up. “Who would’ve known that baking cookies could be so stressful? I don’t know how you enjoy cooking. No offense, Iggy.”

“None taken. But I do find cooking to be somewhat relaxing for me, and the appreciation I get from whoever tries my food makes all the effort worthwhile.”

Prompto’s eyes nearly glazed over. “Yeah,” he said, his voice dreamy. “I can’t wait to see Noct’s face. He’s gonna be _so_ surprised and he’s gonna _love_ it. Ignis, man, how can I repay you?”

“You don’t have to do anything.” Ignis smiled. “But, if you insist, then perhaps you can try not leaving Noct on read for long. His Highness always gets sulky and so difficult to deal with whenever he thinks you're ignoring him. Or perhaps you can stop texting him during meetings?”

“You _knew?”_

“Noct is not very sneaky when answering your texts during meetings.”

Prompto groaned. “He told me it was fine and nobody noticed. Okay, I’ll _try_ not to text him during meetings. But you know he’s probably just not gonna tell me when he’s in one so I don’t know when to not text him, right?”

“Probably.” Ignis covered the basket of cookies, pulling a can of Ebony closer.

“Well, that’s another story for another day.” Prompto paused for a moment. “Uh, Ignis? I kinda maybe got one last favour to ask?”

He took a sip. “Fire away.”

“So I know how to make cookies. Somewhat. But I was looking at some pics online and saw people frosting cookies and adding sprinkles and all that…” Prompto’s voice trailed off.

“So you would like me to teach you how to make frosting, is that it?” Ignis finished. Prompto nodded.

“If it’s not too much trouble. I mean, you’ve already done a lot so it’s okay if you wanna say no. Just, y’know, it was just an idea that popped in.”

Ignis stared at a clock. It was just half past three. He had to be at Noct’s by seven to start dinner and clean up his apartment. Ignis looked to the cookies, to Prompto, and sighed. “I’ve no qualms about teaching you one more thing. Well, let’s get started then.”

(And Ignis quickly learned that Prompto’s artistic talent stopped at this photography. Making the frosting was easy enough, but decorating the cookies was another mess altogether. Messy happy faces and sloppy handwriting, cookies drowning in sprinkles haphazardly thrown on them, Prompto, you’re not twelve I’m not stupid can you _please_ stop trying to draw a dick with icing).

* * *

  **1 day left**

* * *

“Fuck it. I’m done. I can’t do this.”

Noct threw down a whisk and walked out of the kitchen, collapsing into a chair. He buried his head in his arms. Ignis sighed, and started to shovel Noct’s third failed attempt at sugar cookies into the garbage.

“Are you sure about that?” Ignis asked gently.

Noct didn’t bother lifting his head. “Yes. No? Fuck, I don’t know. I want to make them perfect but it’s not working. I don’t wanna give up on Prompto, though. I don’t have any other gifts for him.”

“It’s not too late. We can still go shopping, if you’d like.”

“...Nah,” Noct said after a moment. “I… I can’t give up now. Prompto’s always been jumping through hoops for me since day one. The least I could do is try to return the favour. Just… just give me a sec.”

“As you wish,” Ignis said as Noct left the room, in the direction of the bathroom. He heard the sound of the sink running and then, his phone buzzing, yet again. It was another photo of some cookies, coating in icing and caked in too many sprinkles, all a deep, angry red.

 _Prompto [5:21]: wht do u think?_ _  
_ _Prompto [5:22]: is it too red?_

 _Yes. [5:30]_ _  
_ _Did you run out of the pink sprinkles I gave you? I can grab some more if you’d like me to. [5:31]_

_Prompto [5:33]: it’s np!!! I still have them lol i’ll try them next thank you!!_

“‘Kay. I’m back,” Noct announced. Ignis quickly tucked his phone away and nodded to Noct in greeting. His face was slightly pink, the tips of his bangs wet with water he hadn’t bothered to dry. Astrals. “Attempt number whatever. Let’s try this again.”

(“You needn’t fret, your highness. I’m sure Prompto will appreciate the effort you’ve put into the cookies no matter what they end up as,” Ignis had told Noct later as once again, he was throwing away another failed attempt.

“Specs,” Noct began. “Are you trying to comfort me or what? Was that an attempt at a compliment? I dunno if I should say fuck you or thank you.”

“Hearing thanks would be nice.”

Noct huffed).

* * *

  **Happy Valentines Day!**

* * *

“—And remember, kid, if you’re gonna do it—”

“Oh my fucking god, _Gladio_ —”

“—Use protection.”

Noct resorted to glaring at Gladio, the basket of cookies on his lap stopping him from strangling the man. That, and he was driving the car. Yeah, it’d be unfortunate to die before he gave Prompto his gift.

Or maybe it’d be a blessing because holy shit Noct was _not_ excited to see Prompto’s face when he’d open up the basket and see this sad pile of lumps that were supposed to be chocolate chip cookies.

Gladio’s laughter did nothing to appease Noct’s nerves, too, and it wasn’t until he pushed him did he realize that the car had, in fact, stopped. Right in front of Prompto’s house.

“Well?” Gladio raised an eyebrow. “What are you waitin’ for?”

Noct swallowed the lump in his throat. “Nothing. Thanks for the ride.”

He climbed out of the car, slammed the door shut with more force than necessary, and started the long, arduous walk towards Prompto’s front door. Okay so maybe it wasn’t that long. But with the way that his feet were feeling like lead, it may as well have been a mile.

Cookies in one hand, Noct rang the doorbell, hopping from one foot to another. There was a muffled “ _Coming!”_ and the rapid sound of footsteps, then the door was thrown open and Noct’s jitters turned into butterflies in his stomach at the sight of Prompto’s smile.

Fuck. They’d been dating for this long and still he couldn’t get over how lucky he was to be dating _Prompto._

“Hey,” Noct grinned. “Can I come in?”

“Dude, do you even have to ask?” Prompto practically pulled Noct inside, dragging him through his house. “What’s in the bag?”

“Don’t look!” Noct slapped down Prompto’s hand. “It’s a surprise.”

“My present for Valentines Day?”

“You bet.”

Prompto smiled, that happy-go-lucky smile that made the sun look dull in comparison. “ _Yes!_ Oh man, I’ve got a present for you too. Can’t wait for you to see it.”

“So what do you wanna do? Open the presents first or start the movie?”

“Presents first. So we can enjoy them during the movie. Um.” Prompto hesitated. “I didn’t just give away what mine was, did I?”

“Nope. I’m just as clueless as ever.”

“Dude, you’re always clueless.”

“Am not!” Noct tried to elbow Prompto in the stomach, but with one hand free, he missed, Prompto dancing easily out of his reach with a teasing look. He ruffled Noct’s hair, his hands then moving a little lower to cover Noct’s eyes. “Prompto..?”

“Close your eyes! My present’s in the kitchen. I’ll take you there, ‘kay?” Prompto said. His hands were warm, and Noct could feel his lips on his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

“You sure you’re not just gonna let me walk straight into a wall?”

Prompto laughed. “No way! C’mon, do you trust me or not?”

“‘Course I do,” Noct said easily, maybe a little _too_ easily. Whatever. It was the truth, after all. He'd trust Prompto to lead him blindfolded across a tightrope. “Lead away.”

And with one of Prompto’s hands over his eyes and the other on his elbow, a gentle, leading touch, he walked until Prompto stopped him with a giggle.

“Alright. Keep your eyes closed just for a sec.” And his touch vanished. There was the sound of shuffling, then silence. Noct breathed slowly. “O- _kay!_ Ready! You can open your eyes now.”

Noct opened his eyes. He was standing in the middle of Prompto’s kitchen and there, on the counter, was a plate with a small pile of cookies. They were iced, tiny letters declaring _Happy Valentines Day!_ joined with red hearts. Prompto was standing right next to them, showing them off like a proud mom, his eyes practically sparkling.

“So… what do you think?” Prompto gestured to the cookies. “I made them all on my own. Impressive, huh?”

Noct stared. And stared. And stared. Until Prompto’s expression began to fall. Then he put his head back and laughed. “ _No way,”_ he coughed out. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Noct..?”

Noct threw open the cover of his basket and held it out to Prompto. He peered inside and looked back to Noct. Then the realization hit Prompto full-force.

“ _No fucking way,”_ Prompto echoed. “Don’t tell me you…”

“Yup,” Noct said. “Made them myself. Mostly. Specs taught me how to.”

Prompto blinked. “Wait, he was helping you too?! That’s not fair! I thought _I_ was his only student!”

“Son of a _bitch._ He _knew!”_

Prompto leaned against the countertop, placing a hand to his forehead. “Man, talk about a coincidence. And here I was thinking that I was making a super special and unique Valentines gift.”

“Yeah, me too. I didn’t expect to be showed up by you.” Noct reached over Prompto and plucked a cookie off the plate. He bit into it and god _damn._ “Prompto, this is fucking _great!_ Shit, you could give Specs a run for his money with this.”

“Aw, you think?” Prompto blushed bright red. “I mean, it makes sense, since he was the one teaching me mostly. Can I try yours now?”

Noct grimaced. “Yeah, but, I don’t think they’ll be as good as yours. I don’t know how you did it. Fuck, I hope you don’t want any more of your cookies ‘cause I’m eating them all.”

Prompto reached into the basket, pulling out a cookie. “I mean, that’s the point isn’t it? I did make them for you. Go wild.” He then proceeded to cram half of the cookie in his mouth, chewing with his mouth obnoxiously wide open. Noct made a face.

“Gross.”

Prompto laughed, and swallowed. “Dunno what you were talking about. Yours aren’t bad too.”

Noct exhaled. “Don’t tell me you’re saying that just to be nice.”

“You think I’d do that to you?”

“...No.” Prompto said, and he devoured the rest of the cookie in two bites. “Thanks for making these. Is this why you were so busy lately?”

“Yeah. Was working day and night to get these cookies to be as perfect as I could. Pretty sure I took twenty years off Specs’ lifespan in the process too, especially after I used a fira spell to bake them.”

“You _what?”_ Prompto choked. “You— oh man, you are _so_ giving me all the details about that later.”

“During the movie?” Noct gestured to Prompto’s couch. The TV was already on. Prompto grinned and took Noct’s basket of cookies that were apparently not so disgusting after all.

“You bet.”

(Prompto was leaning on Noct, and Noct was slowing carding his fingers through his hair, tracing the outline of his jaw, relaxing in the weight of his body against his. The moment they'd collapsed onto the couch, Prompto fell on top of Noct, gravitating towards him like it was a habit. Maybe it was. So what if Noct’s cookies were a little less perfect than what he imagined. Prompto’s eager smile and thanks muttered between kisses more than made up for it.

He tasted like chocolate, like sugar, like icing. He tasted so  _sweet,_  and Noct couldn’t get enough of it.

The movie continued to play in the background, completely ignored, as Noct kissed Prompto again and again. "Happy Valentines Day, Prompto," Noct said. Prompto pulled Noct down for another kiss.

"Happy Valentines Day, Noct").

* * *

Ignis stumbled into his apartment at sundown, holding his third can of Ebony, too grateful for the fact that Noct was staying over at Prompto’s. His bones were aching, his limbs complaining with every step— he couldn’t even so much as _think_ of making dinner without going dizzy.

He set his bags down on a chair, flicked on a light switch and immediately noticed something _off_ about his apartment.

He always kept his apartment clean, without a single speck of dust in sight. No loose clothes on the floor, chairs were always tucked in, his kitchen was always shining. But now, right now, there was a plate left on a countertop, a plate he hadn’t remembered leaving there when he left in the morning. Something smelled sweet in the air, when he hadn’t been baking anything recently.

Ignis cautiously approached. And on that plate was a small arrangement of cookies. Sure, they were a bit crumbly and the icing was a tad too heavy, but they looked… _beautiful._ One of the cookies had a wobbly happy face drawn into it with yellow icing, one that looked a little too similar to the same ones Prompto would doodle in the corner of his notebook. Beside the plate was a note, too, in Noct’s handwriting.

_thanks for the help specs_

Ignis’ phone buzzed with a notification.

He checked the message. It was a picture, from Noct.

His and Prompto’s faces were smashed into the frame. They were both glowing with happiness with icing over their faces, like they’ve been fingerpainting on each other. Ignis tutted at their childishness but despite it all, the corners of his lips tilted upwards.

He chuckled, setting down his can of Ebony for cookie.

**Author's Note:**

> (if you can't tell, I don't know shit about baking and okay maybe a few of Noct and Prompto's attempts were based on IRL events. l-listen, i didn't know the mixer would start flinging batter everywhere okay. and yes, forgetting to put sugar in your cookies is apparently a thing that can happen.
> 
> ...maybe I need an Ignis in my life to teach me how to cook.)
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡


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